The present invention relates to a process and apparatus for protecting gallium in the solid, metallic state from the heat of the outside environment during handling and/or storage thereof.
The handling of gallium in the solid, metallic state is difficult since it melts at 29.78.degree. C. For many uses of gallium and, in particular, of the very pure metallic gallium used in the electronic industry, it is advantageous to avoid having the gallium melt while it is handled and/or stored and, in particular, during its transportation between the place of its production and the place of its use.
Until now, the practice has been to protect metallic gallium from the heat of the external environment during handling and/or storage thereof by thermally insulating it by means of packing bodies of plastic material, in particular, expanded polystyrene, and by assuring the maintenance of a low temperature by means of dry ice. This solution is, however, unsatisfactory when the temperature of the external environment exceeds the melting point of gallium, particularly intermittently, and when the handling and storing of the gallium are effected for a period of time of more than a few days.
By the present invention there is provided a process and an apparatus which overcome the defects presented by those previously used and which make it possible, in particular, to protect the gallium from the heat of the external environment during handling and/or storage thereof and, in particular, during its transportation, even at temperatures which exceed the melting point of the gallium, particularly intermittently, and for periods of time of more than several days.
The foregoing, therefore, describes several, among the important objects of the invention.